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US president George Bush greets US marines during his unannounced visit to Al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, Iraq, yesterday. Mr Bush said a withdrawal of troops would be from a position of strength and success, not of fear and failure.

Photograph: Reuters/Jason Reed

HSE orders review of scans at Portlaoise hospital
Thousands of scans carried out on breast cancer patients who attended the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise over an almost four-year period are to be reviewed, it was confirmed yesterday.
Bush hints at withdrawal of troops if 'successes' continue
President George Bush used a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday to raise the prospect of withdrawing some US forces if "current successes" continue, but insisted that he would not be influenced by political considerations or opinion polls.
Gormley wants to extend waste levy to incinerators
The economic viability of the State's planned incinerators has been put in doubt following Minister for the Environment John Gormley's statement that he favours a levy on all waste sent for incineration.

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Finance

Average house prices decline 3% this year
Average houses prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in July, bringing the total decline since the start of the year to 3 per cent. p
New mortgages drop by a quarter
The number of new mortgages issued in the three months to the end of June slumped by 23 per cent, as residential investors shied away from the softening property market. p
Irish workers are second most productive in the world
Irish workers are the second most productive in the world, surpassed only by Americans, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). p
Eastern Europe aids profit surge at Kingspan
Growth in central and Eastern Europe helped drive up profits by 30 per cent at insulation and building systems specialist, Kingspan, during the first half of the year. p

Ireland

Kilkenny salutes return of the 'King'
The black and amber flag flew above the rooftop of Kilkenny Castle last night, signalling that "King Henry the Great" was back in residence. p
Massive turnout for Limerick hurlers
More than 25,000 hurling fans filled O'Connell Street in Limerick last night to welcome home the county's hurlers, despite Sunday's crushing defeat to Kilkenny at Croke Park. p
Broughan will not contest Labour leadership
Labour TD Éamon Gilmore is expected to be crowned leader of the Labour Party on Thursday, following the decision of Dublin North East TD Tommy Broughan last night to rule himself finally out of contention. p
Digging begins to bring missing gunner home
Excavations began outside the north Holland village of Berkhout yesterday as part of an effort to recover the remains of an Irish gunner. p
Lenihan seeks report on Wexford grave
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has requested a report from gardaí on an unmarked grave in Co Wexford which the family of a woman missing since 1988 believes could contain her remains. p
Campaign urges leaving cars at home
Motorists in Dublin have been challenged to take "one small step for a better quality of life" by leaving their cars at home and using other means of transportation in a bid to tackle traffic congestion in the capital. p
Happy pupils on first day of class at new school set up speedily
There wasn't a tear in sight at Scoil Choilm yesterday as 83 junior infants from the Porterstown and Diswellstown areas of west Dublin were introduced to their newly established national school. p
Dublin still 'a work in progress'
Dublin ranks as the 23rd wealthiest city in the world, continues to be the fastest growing capital city economy in the EU and was recently ranked the 11th best of 30 European cities in which to do business, Dublin city manager John Tierney told the EPA conference on sustainable development in Dublin yesterday. p
Young man's death shocks parish
The death of a 23-year-old man at the Electric Picnic in Co Laois was greeted with shock and sadness in his home community in Co Cork yesterday as the young man's family travelled to Portlaoise to bring his remains home. p

World

Terrorism delisting claimed by North Korea
NORTH KOREA: North Korea proudly trumpeted the news yesterday it is a rogue nation no more, saying the United States had agreed to remove it from its list of countries that support terrorism. p
Polls show opposition surging in Jamaica
JAMAICA: A handful of voters lined up early when polls opened for Jamaica's national elections yesterday as the Caribbean island recovers from one hurricane, warily eyes another and frets over recent political violence. p
Brown colonises centre by recruiting Tory MPs
BRITAIN: Gordon Brown tried to colonise the centre ground of British politics yesterday by announcing he had recruited two Tory MPs and a Liberal Democrat to lead three government reviews on security, children's disabilities and rural housing. p

Sport

Caffrey gets fourth season at the helm
GAELIC GAMES: Paul Caffrey and his management team have been given the go-ahead for another year in charge of the Dublin senior footballers. The decision was taken at last night's meeting of the county board in Parnell Park. p
Finnan's knee injury a major worry
SOCCER/Euro 2008 news: Liverpool right back Steve Finnan emerged as a doubt yesterday for Saturday's European Championship qualifier in Bratislava, the defender informing Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton he would be unable to join up with the squad today. p
O'Driscoll a possible for Namibia opener
RUGBY: Brian O'Driscoll could be fit enough to play against Namibia in Ireland's first pool match of the World Cup, next Sunday. Coach Eddie O'Sullivan was the bringer of the good news yesterday when he announced his captain, who was originally scheduled to open his World Cup in Ireland's second match, against Georgia on Saturday week, was making better progress than expected with his recovery. p

Health

One patient's drugs cost HSE €193,000
The HSE paid out more than €193,000 in drug costs for one individual patient last year, a new internal report on expenditure on statutory drug and allowance schemes reveals. It also shows that in 2005 the HSE spent more than €100,000 on drugs for each of its five most expensive patients. p

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HSE orders review of scans at Portlaoise hospital

Bush hints at withdrawal of troops if 'successes' continue

Gormley wants to extend waste levy to incinerators

Head2Head

Business poll

Education

Average house prices decline 3% this year

New mortgages drop by a quarter

Irish workers are second most productive in the world

Eastern Europe aids profit surge at Kingspan

Kilkenny salutes return of the 'King'

Massive turnout for Limerick hurlers

Broughan will not contest Labour leadership

Digging begins to bring missing gunner home

Lenihan seeks report on Wexford grave

Campaign urges leaving cars at home

Happy pupils on first day of class at new school set up speedily

Dublin still 'a work in progress'

Young man's death shocks parish

Terrorism delisting claimed by North Korea

Polls show opposition surging in Jamaica

Brown colonises centre by recruiting Tory MPs

Caffrey gets fourth season at the helm

Finnan's knee injury a major worry

O'Driscoll a possible for Namibia opener

One patient's drugs cost HSE €193,000

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